Valentine's Day
by Qk
Summary: Dateless again one Valentine's Day, Joey tries to get Mai to be his lastminute date. But if he should strike out, not to worry. He can try again, and again, and again... AU, Full Sum. Inside, Based ... somewhat on Groundhog Day.
1. The Stupid Day of Love

**Valentine's Day**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO. BLAHDEBLAHDEBLAH. Wow... that was _so_ random...

**D/N:** Why, hello there everyone! Yes... well... I'm back. The authoress infamous for taking five years to update one damn story has decided to unblock her writer's block by starting up a _new_ story. Aren't I clever and smart-like? Oh, and by the way... I've decided to take down The Fantastic Freaks! and redesign it. It's... well... as of right now, going no where. Yeah, so... Well, I was watching Groundhog's Day at 2:14am... and I was thinking to myself while watching it, "Dude... I could _so_ see someone from Yu-Gi-Oh! doing that. I'm gonna write me an award-winning story!" Well, actually, I didn't think that. It was more along the lines of, "That's a really good plot. Lemme just plagiarise that idea, switch around the names, slap on a new title, and put it in the Yu-Gi-Oh! category. Oh yeah, baby! I'm fiendishly clever and ness!" So here we are. Don't worry, I've yet to actually _finish_ the movie, and I doubt I will for a _long_ time. Plus, I missed the beginning. But I got the gist of the idea. The story will follow the same, basic guidelines, but trust me - I am taking this plot in a _whole_ different direction! WHOO-EE! ... Anyways, Fantastic Four is an amazing movie. Go watch it. Johnny is hot. I've going to rent Perfect Score cause he was in it. Go fire-boy. w00t.

**Pairings:** Joey/Mai, whoever else I think of in the sidelines.

**P.O.V:** Third Person

**Summary:** It's Valentine's Day, and Joey's got his eyes set on Mai. Unfortunately, she's completely out of his league, and Joey will never be able to convince that diva prom queen to consent to a last minute date. Besides, she's probably already got twenty other guys lined up. But Joey doesn't quit easily, and although he's only got one day, he's stuck trying over and over. And until he can figure out a way to get out of this strange time loop, he'll be trying till the end of eternity.

**Legend:**

**OooOOOooO **- section break/new scene

_- - - -_ - The start of the next/same day, depending on your P.O.V

**OooOOOooO**

"This is a stupid, _stupid_ day." Joey grumbled, his voice muffled by the fact that his face was flat on his desk. "Why even make this day? We do nothing but worship stupid, flying, naked babies who go around shooting people with arrows. Last I checked, if someone else came and started doing that, he'd be charged for murder and put on death row."

"Joey, you're talking crazy talk again." Duke said, sitting in the chair of his desk with his feet propped up on the desk to his left - Tristan's. "You've run out of sane things to say again, haven't you?"

Tristan shoved Duke's feet off of his desk haughtily, glared at him when he threw his legs up again, and turned around in his chair to face Joey. "You've got to get past this. Every year it's the same thing. 'Oh, I have no date, I have no one to be with on Valentine's day, this day is so stupid, why is it here, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah...' If you had a date, I think you'd love today."

"Well, we'll never know now will we, Tristan?" Joey replied, his face still smooshed up against the wood. "And you know why? Because I don't have a date, in case you haven't noticed."

Tristan sighed dreamily, leaning on Joey's desk. "For once, I can't agree with you, because I'm finally out of Datelessville."

Joey muttered something incoherent to the other two, but they got the general meaning.

"Wow, you've managed to pick up _one_ girl for _one_ night." Duke rolled his eyes. He looked across the classroom and winked at a bunch of girls ogling him from where they were sitting. They then began giggling and chattering happily to themselves. "You see, if you had _any_ sort of style whatsoever, you'd realise that _that's_ nothing to be proud of. I can have any girl I want in this school, city or anywhere else, whether they have a date or not, so don't start flattering yourself."

Tristan smirked. "You're just jealous because you lost out on Serenity, dice-boy."

Duke grew red in the face, as he sat up sharply in his seat. "Why, you-"

"Tristan, Duke, shut up and get back to _me_ already." Joey butt in. "I've got no date, woe is me. Cheer me up. Do _something_."

"Gee, Joey," Duke grinned at the blonde, "After being dateless for so long one would think that you'd have found a way to cope with it by now."

"I'll tell Serenity that I caught you picking your nose the other day." Joey replied.

"But on the other hand, I'd be more than willing to lend you one of my many fangirls to spend tonight with." Duke added hastily, shooting an angry glance at Tristan who was failing miserably at trying to stifle a smile.

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Joey sighed, prying his face off of his desk to look at his friends. "This isn't fair. I'm the _only_ one in this entire _school_ who doesn't have a date! Yugi has Tea, Ryou has that new kid... hell, even _Kaiba's_ dating Isis!"

"Yeah, it sucks when there's an odd number of guys and girls in a school, doesn't it?" Tristan said, patting Joey on the head. "But on the plus side, that means you won't have to worry about paying for any Valentine's dinner."

"Wow... there really _is_ a silver lining on every cloud." Joey said, sarcastically. He crashed his head into the desk once more. "Cupid hates me. I swear to God, he hates me. He heard me call him a stupid cherub, and now he's wreaking havoc on my love life."

"I think you managed that perfectly well on your own, Joey." Duke grinned.

"I swear I'll call her."

"Oh, look," Duke cried, quickly changing the subject, "Here comes Yugi and Tea!"

Sure enough, the happy couple bounced in, hand in hand. Tea carried a small bag in her free hand, as she sat down in her seat behind Duke and to the left of Joey. "Hey, guys!" she chirped.

"Hey everyone!" Yugi smiled, sitting behind Tea. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Tristan and Duke replied, cheerily.

"Yeah, really happy." Joey said, from his current position. "Happy, happy V-Day. Oh, isn't the world _great_ today? Everywhere you go, love is oozing off of everyone the way boogers roll out of a nose in that way that makes you want to throw up."

Tea frowned at him. "Joey, I know you don't have a date and that always makes you a little grumpy, but don't start dumping on everyone else." She reached into her bag and pulled out a small card. "Here, this'll make you feel better!"

Joey turned his head to the side, resting his cheek on his desk, as he took the card from her hand. On it was a picture of a cartoon bee holding a heart shaped box of chocolates under the words, '_Bee Mine_'. Joey raised an eyebrow at it.

"You like it?" Tea asked.

Rolling his eyes, Joey plopped the card onto the edge of his desk precariously, as it slipped off and fell onto the floor. "Yeah, Tea. Real sweet. Thanks for thinking of me when you went to buy your ten cent cards for all the stupid people who can't get a real date so they have to have their friends give them crummy pieces of paper for moral support. You're always so considerate."

Tea furrowed her eyebrows, as she picked up the card. "Well, if you didn't like it, you didn't have to be so sarcastic. Just give it back!" She got up and stomped off to a corner of the room to talk with other people, as Yugi jumped into her seat to sit next to Joey.

"But that would be rude." Joey mumbled to her receding form, turning his head so his face was back on the desk again. "Today just sucks like a pair of big, donkey b-"

"Joey!" Yugi cried.

"-Banana cream pies." Joey caught himself quickly. "Yes, like a pair of big, donkey, banana cream pies."

"Right." Duke rolled his eyes, as he got up from his seat. "Well, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I have to make some girls swoon before Mrs. Takria gets in."

"Joey, you really have to lighten up." Tristan told his best friend. "I mean, it's really your own fault that you're dateless, anyway. If you just acted like a man and _asked_ Mai to be your date, you wouldn't be in this mess, now would you?"

Joey raised his head so his chin rested on his desk. "Gee, Tristan, thanks for the support. I appreciate it."

"Anytime, man." Tristan grinned, patting Joey on the head. "Just make sure you steer clear of Kaiba. I mean, I know the fact that he's actually _dating_ someone kind of entitles him to a mockfest, but today just isn't the day for _you_ to do it. What with you being date_less_ and all."

"I get it, Tristan." Joey grunted. He sighed again, sitting up properly in his chair for a moment before slumping back down and hitting his forehead on his desk. "Ow. You see what happens when I try to sit up? I fall right back down again and then I get hurt. That's a definite sign from above. Cupid's showing some mercy and warning me that I should just stay here with my face on my desk and not bother trying to fix myself up. It's an omen, guys."

"Or maybe it's just a sign of your inferiority." Kaiba cut in smoothly, as he walked down the aisle to his desk.

"Hey, Kaiba?" Joey said, sitting up slightly and turning his head to face the CEO.

Kaiba stopped briefly, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Shut up, you jerk." Joey snapped, as he plopped his face back down once more.

"Heh. Typical response from one with an intellect such as yours." Kaiba replied, sitting down at his desk so conveniently a few spaces behind Joey's.

"You know what, Kaiba?" Joey shot over his shoulder. "One day, I'm gonna think up a _real_ good comeback."

"I look forward to it." Kaiba smirked. "Let's see what your little mind can string together. I hope it's at least somewhat coherent."

"Ah, shaddup." Joey grunted in return, giving up. "Donkey cream pies. Today sucks like donkey cream pies."

"Wasn't it 'a _pair_ of big, donkey, _banana_ cream pies?'" Tristan asked.

"Hey, Tristan?" Joey said.

"Yeah?"

"One more word out of you, and I'm telling Serenity about your 'exotic' stash of magazines behind your nightstand." Joey muttered. "Sorry Yugi. Go eat some Prozac. You'll feel better."

"I think I'll need more than Prozac." Yugi said, raising a hand to his head. "Ohh... I've been spending too much time with Yami and Bakura. Bad pictures, bad thoughts..."

"I never knew you had it in you, Yugi." Tristan nodded. "Congrats."

"Yeah..." Yugi rolled his eyes.

"She's here." Joey breathed out, his chin resting on the desk once more.

Tristan and Yugi turned to face the door. There, entering the classroom, was Joey's angel, her bright, violet eyes sparkling. Her delicate mouth turned up in a smile as she greeted some of her friends upon entering. She turned her head, her hair bouncing slightly and then falling perfectly back into place. She smiled a heart-melting smile at him, making her way over to him.

"Hi, Joey." Mai nearly sang in the voice of a thousand, heavenly entities.

"H-hi, Mai." Joey less-than-heavenly replied. He cleared his throat, as he sat up. "What's up?"

Mai pouted slightly, as she sat on the edge of his desk, drawing circles on it with her finger so professionally manicured. "I've got a bit of a dilemma."

"Uh... what?" Joey asked, blinking stupidly at her. It seemed as if everyone else in the room had disappeared, their voices fading into the background before being lost to the whispers of the winds...

"Well, you see, I don't have a date for today." Mai told him. "The guy I wanted to ask me never got around to it..."

"Wow... r-really?" Joey stammered. "Uh... who wouldn't ask _you_ to be their date?"

Mai smiled again, her eyes dancing gleefully. "Actually, you, Joey. Why didn't you ask me? I'm _dying_ to go out with you. I've only been hinting for like... _ever_."

Joey couldn't even respond this time, especially as Mai began to lean in closer to him.

"I really, _really_ want you to ask me out, Joey." Mai said, seductively, as she pushed her bottom lip out a bit in a pouty-pleading face. "Please?"

"... Uh... uh... uh..." Joey smoothly replied, in a cool and collective state, as Mai leaned in the final stretch, closing the distance between them as sparks began to...

"Who, Julia Taylors? So what?" Tristan's voice crashed into Joey's thoughts, as Mai dissolved into a sparkling dust and crumbled away, only to appear again at the front of the room, greeting some of her friends as she entered.

Joey shook his head and thought for a moment, as Tristan's words finally caught up with him. "What? _No_, you idiot! _Mai_. She's here."

"Oh. Yeah. So?" Tristan said.

"_So?_ Whaddya _mean_ so?" Joey snapped. "The love of my life _just_ walked in and you say 'so'!"

Yugi shook his head. "Joey, Mai's entrance isn't a big deal if you're not going to _do_ anything about it."

Joey looked at him. "_Do_ anything about it? _Do_ what?"

Yugi shrugged. "I don't know. Talk to her or something. Ask her to be your date."

Joey's eyes widened. "_What?_ I can't do that! That's... that's... _impossible_!"

Yugi shrugged again, looking away.

"You ask her."

"Huh?" Yugi said, returning to his friend.

"Well, don't ask her to be my date." Joey clarified. "Just... you know... ask her if she _has_ one."

"Why do I have to do it, Joey?" Yugi asked. "I don't care if she does. You should do it."

"No, no, no!" Joey shook his head vigorously. "If _I_ ask her then she'll know I want to go out with her!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Tristan said, "But isn't that kind of the _point_?"

"Magazines, man." Joey threatened, as Tristan gulped. Joey face Yugi again. "Please, Yugi? You _have_ a date already, so if _you_ ask her, she'll know that you're asking for someone else!"

"But... she'll know that the only one who'd want to ask her would be... you." Yugi said slowly.

"Yeah... so you'll do it?" Joey asked.

Yugi shook his head. "Joey, I can't believe you. Wouldn't it make more sense for _you_ to just go and ask her? Won't she think you're a coward if _you_ don't ask her but send someone else?"

"Uh... probably. But then again, I've saved her life a couple of times before, so maybe not." Joey shrugged. "Look, Yugi, _please_ just do it. For me. I saved _your_ life too!"

"Joey..." Yugi started.

"Look, _I'll_ do it." Tristan said, standing up. "_If_ you promise not to tell Serenity about my mags no matter _what_."

"I promise nothing." Joey replied.

"Good enough." Tristan said, as he began to walk towards Mai.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Joey hissed, jumping out of his seat and pulling Tristan back. "Don't tell her that I want to know. I didn't ask you to ask her."

"Right. It was Yugi." Tristan rolled his eyes, as he turned around and began walking again.

"_Wait_, wait, wait!" Joey grabbed Tristan's arm again. "And don't come straight back to me, okay? Walk around for a bit, okay?"

"Joey, _relax_." Tristan said, peeling his hands off of him. "I know what to do. Chill." He began to walk towards Mai again.

Joey looked at him walk over slowly, as he suddenly jumped back into his seat and turned to Yugi. "Give me a book!"

"Huh-wha?" Yugi blinked at him.

"A book! Give me a book!" Joey repeated, urgently.

"Uh... okay, what kind of book?" Yugi asked.

"_Any_ kind, just give me one!" Joey snapped, as Yugi handed him a math textbook. Joey instantly opened it up and ducked his head behind it. "Is she looking? Is she looking?"

Yugi glanced over at Tristan, who had approached her desk and her group of friends. "... No."

"What's happening?" Joey demanded.

Yugi rolled his eyes, sighing at the same time, as he watched them. "Uh... Tristan's talking to her... and Mai's talking back."

"Yeah? And?" Joey urged.

"Uh... Tristan said something... and Mai's laughing." Yugi said, as he suddenly waved.

"Why'd you wave?" Joey asked.

"She waved at me." Yugi shrugged. "I waved back."

"_What?_" Joey's eyes widened.

"She wants to talk to you or something. Put the book down." Yugi told him.

"Put the - you're kidding, right?" Joey raised an eyebrow.

"Well, she's pointing at you and mouthing 'Get Joey,' so... no, I'm not." Yugi shrugged.

Joey slowly lowered the book until he could see Mai. She smiled as he did, and waved enthusiastically. He whipped the book back into place. "Ohmigawd, she saw me! She saw me!"

"No, really?" Yugi yawned, who had clearly been hanging around Yami too long. As if their looks were identical enough, the personalities were beginning to blend together. "The book doesn't make you invisible, Joey. It makes you look stupid."

"One more word out of you and I'll tell Tea about those little 'growing' pills you take every now and then." Joey snapped.

Yugi blushed furiously. "Okay, okay, sorry. Geez, you've got dirt on everyone, don't you?"

"I do try." Joey replied. "What's Tristan doing now?"

"Hmm... well, it looks like he's walking around in circles around Mai and her friends." Yugi reported, finishing with a nod of confirmation.

"_What?_" Joey cried, pushing the book down, only to see Tristan walking around the group several times, chatting as Mai and her friends laughed merrily. "Oh... my... god... What is he doing?"

"Well, it looks like he's walking around in circles around Mai and her friends." Yugi repeated.

"Smart-ass. What happened to pure and innocent Yugi?" Joey demanded.

"He died sometime around my whole 'wearing a collar' thing back in Battle City." Yugi beamed. "Meet 'Yagi.' I'm Yugi and Yami combined. I gasp at impurities yet I create my own. I'm the perfect person!"

"Humble too." Joey muttered, as Tristan finally came back. "What the hell was _that_, Tristan?"

"You said not to come back to you right away." Tristan shrugged. "I was just doing what you told me."

"Smart-asses, all of you!" Joey growled, plopping his face down on his desk once more, as the three were silent for a moment. Finally Joey raised his head again. "So what'd she say?"

"She says that if you want to know so much, get off your butt and ask her yourself." Tristan grinned. "Too bad. You already promised not to blackmail me with the magazine thing."

"I promised nothing, stupid." Joey snapped, as he thought for a moment. "Okay, so... does this mean that she _doesn't_ have a date and wants me to ask her out or that she _does_ have a date and she wants to humiliate me in front of her friends?"

"Only one way to find out, lazy-butt." Tristan grinned. "Get up there and claim your woman!"

Joey looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it!" He grinned and got up out of his seat, his feet moving automatically as he suddenly realised what he was about to do. '_Oh. Crap,_' He thought to himself.

It took only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity until Joey reached Mai. She smiled at him sweetly, her violet eyes flashing with glee and excitement. Or was it expectation? Which was good? Which was bad? Did it matter?

"Hi, Joey." Mai said, in the voice that made his heart ring.

"Uh... Hi, Mai." Joey replied out of habit. Hearing him say the words made him realise that he was, in fact, in front of Mai's desk, talking to Mai for the purpose of asking Mai if she had a date for Valentine's Day. "Uh... I was wondering..."

"Yes?" Mai urged gently, her friends watching with intense interest.

"Do you... uh..."

"Yes?"

"Well, if you don't have a date or plans or anything like that..." Joey said, proud that he had made it that far. "I was wondering if you'd-"

"Good morning, class!" Mrs. Takria's voice called out as the door flung open. There was a maddening dash as everyone scurried to their seats. Everyone except Joey, that was. "Mr. Wheeler, sit down at your desk please."

"But-" Joey began.

"_Now_, young man." Mrs. Takria said firmly.

Joey narrowed his eyes at her, as he trudged back to his seat, muttering, "Hard-ass, forty-year-old virgin..." His spirits lifted, however, when he heard Mai giggle.

"Now then," Mrs. Takria stated, sitting down at her desk. "Today we'll be learning about the wonderful world of logic and puzzles! In other words, I'm going to give you each a riddle, and you're going to have to solve it in 15 seconds. Understood? Good. I'll go around the class, starting with Janet..."

Joey steadily tuned Mrs. Takria out, preferring to focus completely on the blonde angel who sat at the front of the class. Just three desk before him and one to the right separated them. She looked _beautiful_. And the way she had urged him to continue... no doubt about it. Mai didn't have a date, and she _wanted_ Joey to ask him. He had missed his chance, but he'd _definitely_ ask her after class. Nothing was going to stop him. And it wasn't long before he had completely consumed himself in visions of weddings.

"Mr. Wheeler, are you going to answer the riddle or am I going to have to repeat it for the _third_ time while you continue to gawk at Miss. Valentine?" Mrs. Takria snapped.

Joey's face flushed a bright red, as his mind frantically wrapped itself up with the thought, '_She did _not_ just say that._' He looked at Mrs. Takria, sneaking a glance out of the corner of his eye at Mai. She was looking at him, smiling with understanding. Still, the rest of the class was laughing. That wasn't very comforting.

"Well?" Mrs. Takria raised an eyebrow, tapping her foot.

"Uh... can... you repeat the question please?" Joey mumbled. Ooh, how he would have _loved_ to tell her off right then and there.

Giving an impatient sigh, Mrs. Takria said, "Pay attention this time. This is a logic question, something you're notorious for being unfamiliar with. Now then, if all woozles are wamzels, all wamzels are weasles, and no weasles are wooples, then does that mean a) all weasles are wooples, b) all wamzels are wooples, c) all woozles are weasles, or d) no weasles are woozles?"

Joey blinked at his teacher. "Uh... what?"

Mrs. Takria groaned and rolled her eyes. She moved onto the person sitting to the right of Joey. "Michelle, same question."

"The answer's c." Michelle replied promptly.

"Correct." Mrs. Takria nodded with approval.

Joey groaned and plopped his head onto his desk again - his new, favourite position. This was going to be a _long_ day.

**OooOOOooO**

**OOOOO**

**OOOOO**

**D/N:** Wheeee! I don't know if that helps with my writer's block, but that sure was fun to write! Anyways, review, and maybe I'll update this soon... and possibly Of Dogs and Men. Ehehe... sorry about the delay... as usual...


	2. Have I Done This Before?

**Have I Done This Before?**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO. Hurrah. Wait... no. Wait. Wait. Wait. No. Wait! No. Sorry, that was random.

**D/N:** I got hit in the nose the other day... Well, no not really, but you know what I mean. And if you don't, choke on a frog, I'm done talking to you. Wow... am I hyper right now or what? And not hyper "eehehehhehheh omg a frog just like totally spat on the gingerbread cookie I pulled from my shoe ehehehhehehhe" hyper, but I mean like, "Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude..." hyper. So... I guess the proper term is, I feel _so_ drunk and/or stoned right now. Well, not really. But I'm assuming that if I _were_ drunk and/or stoned, then I would be feeling a much stronger verison of this, but you know what I mean. And if not, re-read the first sentence of this little blurb. Hahaha... blurb... duuuuuuuuuuude...

**Random Review Responses:**

**BoxerBitch:** Your name rocks. Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked the first chapter!

**anonymous Jewel:** Yes, I haven't written in a long time... Wow, you really think it was worth the wait? O.o My friends keep telling me that I got their hopes up by thinking I'd stopped writing and spared the world a great deal of pain and torment. Ha! I showed them...

**Sakurelle:** :D Here's your update! Thanks for R&Ring!

**Honeychild:** Thanks for R&Ring, I appreciate it:D

**precious tears:** :D I love Mai and Joey stories too! There really aren't enough good ones out there, really... Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Pairings:** Joey/Mai, whoever else I think of in the sidelines.

**P.O.V:** Third Person

**Summary:** It's Valentine's Day, and Joey's got his eyes set on Mai. Unfortunately, she's completely out of his league, and Joey will never be able to convince that diva prom queen to consent to a last minute date. Besides, she's probably already got twenty other guys lined up. But Joey doesn't quit easily, and although he's only got one day, he's stuck trying over and over. And until he can figure out a way to get out of this strange time loop, he'll be trying till the end of eternity.

**Legend:**

**OooOOOooO **- section break/new scene

_- - - -_ - The next/same day, depending on your P.O.V

_blah de blah be blah_ - thinking/responses over the phone/radio, use your thinker to tell them apart

**OooOOOooO**

(ehehehe... blurb...)

"Hey, Mai! Mai!" Joey called out to her at the end of the day. He ran across the schoolyard to the parking lot, just catching up to her before she got into her car. She looked up at him, lowering her sunglasses a bit so she could per at him just over the lenses. Struggling to not be out of breath - all that eating got you a bit out of condition, he noticed - he smiled at her. "Uh... so... what's up?"

Mai smiled, her hand still on the open car door. "Hey, Joey." She replied, fidgeting a little bit. "Uh... I wanted to ask you something..."

'_Girls can ask guys out to dates? I never knew that!_' Joey thought to himself, trying to remain as unexcited as possible. He failed miserably, as a huge grin blossomed onto his face. "Yes?"

Mai looked down at her hand, watching her fingers begin to drum nervously on the door. "Well... uh... what... what did you want to ask me earlier? At the beginning of class?" She looked back up at him, concern and worry crossing her face.

Joey nodded, as he steadied himself, quickly thinking up all the places he could take her on his somewhat limited budget. "Well, I wanted to know... if you didn't already have a date for today-"

"I _knew_ you were going to ask me that!" Mai interrupted. "I just _knew_ it!"

Joey grinned wider at the words, but then suddenly noticed that her face bore a frown - not exactly the expression he wanted to see at the moment.

"If only you'd asked me _sooner_." Mai went on, shaking her head in despair. Joey's eyes widened a bit, but he said nothing. "Listen... I _was_ kind of hoping you and I could go out later, but I have a rule, you know. First come, first serve... and... well..." She trailed off, looking away again.

"Oh." Joey simply said, looking down at her hand as well, which was keeping up its steady drumming. "Well... alright then. Maybe... some other time?"

"Of course!" Mai exclaimed, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, as if she desperately wanted to make up it up to him for having to blow him off. It was the same tone used by doctors' when telling their patients they had a week to live but could get a free, exotic cruise for their last few moments. "I'm always up for another time."

Joey nodded, feeling more and more awkward as the time passed. "So... who... uh... who asked you?" Joey said, rubbing the back of his head. "Just out of curiosity."

Mai didn't raise her eyes. "Josh."

"Captain of the football team." Joey nodded, wincing and pursing his lips. "Naturally. How can I compete with that?"

Mai _did_ look at him now. "Don't try using that tone with me! It's not like this is _my_ fault! Would it have killed you to get off you butt and ask me earlier? This is _your_ fault for taking so long!"

Joey shrugged. "You shouldn't have accepted if you knew I was going to ask you anyway." He replied, in as much indifference as he could muster.

"I wasn't sure if you were." Mai muttered. "You might have been asking for someone else."

"Right. Whatever." Joey's words and tone only succeeded in further agitating the blonde woman.

Her eyes became full of anger and snap, as she opened her mouth to reply. Fortunately - or unfortunately, however you may see it - a burly, tall and muscular brunette came striding up. He was wearing simply jeans, a yellow shirt, and a football jacket with the words '_Domino Football_' inscribed on the back. The two turned to look at him, as he rudely jumped into the car via the roof or lack thereof, and leaned back in the chair.

"Ready to go, babe?" He drawled, a wad of gum in his mouth as he put his arm on Mai's headrest so she would have to lean on it when she sat down.

Mai continued to look at Joey, her eyes still harsh and cold, as she replied, "Of course, Josh." She then flicked her head to the side to leave Joey's gaze, as she sat down and started up the engine. As she pulled out, she called to Joey, "And you can forget about any other time you had in mind, _Joseph_!" Then she sped off, giggling at something 'incredibly witty' that Josh had said.

Joey stood there on the edge of the parking lot.

"Well, _damn_."

**OooOOOooO**

"... And then she drove off with that idiot." Joey finished, lying face-up on his bed, one arm tucked behind his head and the other holding the phone to his ear.

"_Well, she was kind of right in the sense of waiting till the last minute_." Yugi replied on the other side. "_I mean, if you had asked her a few days before, not only would you have gotten a yes and time to prepare for a big dinner thing, but you'd have gotten the satisfaction of beating Josh to her._"

"_That_ idiot always waits until the last minute to ask her out, and he _always_ gets to go out with her." Joey growled. "The one time I sort of accidentally on purpose decide to wait for a while to ask her, I get screwed up by that stupid teacher of ours."

"_What's Mrs. Takria got to do with anything?_" Yugi asked.

"Yugi, will you _open_ your eyes?" Joey snapped. "The only reason I couldn't ask Mai out is because _she_ decided to walk into the classroom!"

"_Wow... a teacher walked into her classroom as the bell rung... That _totally_ goes against the laws of nature in all its glory._" Yugi responded sarcastically, reminding Joey once again that Yugi had been spending too much time with the Yamis. "_Joey, the only reason you missed out on asking Mai is because you were too afraid of having her say no. That fear blinded you to the point that you missed your opportunity._"

"Yugi, you're repeating the stuff _I_ already told you." Joey rolled his eyes. "I admitted to you I was freaked out. Now do you have anything good to say or am I going to have to call Tea so she'll give me a moralising pep talk?"

"_You won't be able to. She's still really offended by the fact that you threw her card down on the ground._" Yugi said. "_Look, Joey, I have to go, alright? Grandpa's suddenly not feeling well... he threw up all over the stairs a moment ago, so now I have to clean it up before it _really_ starts to smell._"

"Wow, looks like you're all set for an awesome evening." Joey yawned. "Alright then. I'm off. Good night, Yug'."

"_Good night, Joey. And I'm really sorry about Mai_." Then a _click_ as the conversation was ended.

Joey looked at his cordless for a moment before shutting it off and plopping it down on his night table. He was living with his mom now (1) and was now simply staring up at the ceiling of his room. He glanced quickly at his watch. "10:32... I'm surprised Gramps even let Yugi _answer_ the phone that late. It's _way_ past his curfew." He chuckled at this softly, then thought for a moment.

"Too late to call Tristan... Duke's probably still on his date or... _inside_ it... ew... Tea's mad at me, Serenity's asleep, Ryou's asleep, Bakura's probably awake, but he's evil, and everyone else really isn't worth talking to right now." Joey sighed, as he stripped off (2) his heavier clothes and slid under his covers.

"Today was... crap." Joey muttered, as he began to drift off to sleep. "Stupid... naked baby... friggin' cherub... idiot... god of... love..." Finally, as his eyelids slid shut, he yawned out, "What the hell did I ever do to _you_, Cupid?"

**OooOOOooO**

"You're an idiot." The so-called stupid, naked baby sighed. "You let her get away, you moron. Can't you do anything right?" There was silence, of course. "No, you can't. Not the _first_ time around, anyway. But you'll learn. Wings be damned, this is _one_ friggin' cherub who isn't going to give up on someone with this much potential."

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"..._ And tell you time and time again... how much I care..._" The song flowed out from his radio alarm, as Joey's eyes creaked open, as he let out his first word of the day, spoken with the true intelligence of any average man.

"Blurb..." (3)

"_... Hello... I've just got to let you know..._"

"I hate that song..." Joey muttered, as he buried his face deeper into the pillow. "Idiots played that song _yesterday._"

"_... And I wonder what you'd do... Are you somewhere feeling lonely... or is someone loving you?_"

Joey finally let out another 'grunt o'smarts' as he flipped onto his back and hefted himself up. "Gotta get up... Gotta go to school... blah, school... Who needs it? I'm smart enough already..."

"_... but let me start by saying... I love you._" (4)

"'I love you' is highly overrated, my friend." Joey yawned, getting out of his bed and walking over to the bathroom. He left the radio playing, thinking he or someone else would get sick of it sooner or later and shut it off.

"_That's right, ladies and gentlemen, a perfect love song to start off another day of love. It's Valentine's Day once again, and this year, we hope that you have someone special to share it with. The weather's looking..._"

Joey finally made it downstairs, as he finished brushing his hair on the way. He plopped the brush onto the side of the table, as he sat down at the table. His sister had already gotten halfway through her scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Good morning, Joey!" Serenity smiled.

"Gnuh..." Joey replied, as he plopped his face down on the table much like the way he did at school. "Gnu menning..." came the second muffled response.

"Tired, Joey?" His sister asked, patting him on the head. "You can sleep when you get back."

"Oh, darn. I'm out of eggs." Joey's mother, Diane, sighed. She turned to face her son. "Joey, you don't mind just having bacon today, do you?"

Joey sluggishly heaved his arm into the air, flashing her a thumbs up briefly before it plopped back onto the table. He said nothing, as his face was much too preoccupied with being flattened by the table top. After a moment or two of pause, he lifted his head up slightly. "You got some yesterday, though."

"What?" Diane said, looking around and pausing slightly from her tedious task of frying slices of dead pig. "No, I didn't. I wasn't able to go to the grocery store at all yesterday because that jerk Michael decided to unload a heap of work onto me. I'm staying home today to finish it."

"Whatever..." Joey murmured, as his face met with the table again. "Can I just have a sick day today?"

"Of course not." Diane replied. "Sit up. Here's your bacon." She pushed the plate in front of him as Joey began to poke at it with his finger.

Joey looked up suddenly, as he pointed at the toaster sitting on the counter. "I thought you threw that out yesterday, too."

Diane raised an eyebrow. "Why would I throw out my toaster?"

"Because it started sparking and set the toast on fire." Joey explained. No sooner had he said this than the toaster, true to his word, began sparking. "Look! Look! See?"

Diane let out a little yelp of surprise as the toast inside went up in flames. She grabbed the fire extinguisher that resided next to the fridge and sprayed it over the machine. "Well... that was... inconvenient." She shook her head. "I'm going to have to throw it out _now_."

Serenity looked at her older brother. "How'd you know it was going to do that?"

"Because it..." Joey trailed off momentarily. "I'm a psychic. I can see stuff from the future. Yes... that's it."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Right. Well, just to remind you guys, I'm going to be coming home late tonight."

"Late?" Joey lazily echoed, leaning on the table as he began to pick at his food with his fork. "Why?"

"Tristan's picking me up at six." Serenity told him.

"_Tristan's_ picking you up?" Joey repeated, his mind beginning to work a little better. "What, you're going out with him tonight _again_? I thought you had enough of him _last_ night."

Serenity blinked in confusion. "Last... what? I didn't go out with him last night."

"Sure, you did." Joey nodded, nibbling on his too-dry bacon. "You came back giggling like a school girl and laughing about some... I don't know... what was it? Garbage man or someone?"

Serenity looked at him as if he was crazy. "I... think... you have that confused with something else. I didn't go out with Tristan last night. I'm going out with Tristan _tonight_. You know, for a Valentine's Day thing."

"Valentine's Day?" Joey raised an eyebrow.

Serenity gave Joey a withering look. "Oh, come on, Joey. Don't start changing your mind. Remember how long I had to fight with you to let me go? Don't start it up again."

"Fight? Uh... no, I wasn't planning on it." Joey replied slowly. "I'm totally cool with it. It's just... what'd you go out with Tristan last night for, then?"

"Joey, I _didn't_ go out with Tristan last night. I'm going out with him _this_ night." Serenity insisted. A horn honked outside. "That's my ride. I've got to get to school." She jumped up and gave Joey a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bye Joey, and don't even _think_ about trying to get me to stay home today. I'm going out with Tristan _tonight_, alright? Bye mom!"

"Bye, Serenity!" Diane called out, without turning around.

"Yeah... bye..." Joey waved slightly. "Hey, mom, didn't she go out with Tristan _last_ night?"

"Uh... what? Sorry?" Diane looked around. "No, she's going out with him _this_ night. And anyway Joey, I'm not really paying attention right now. I've got to choose between a light beige or mahogany for a dining room for this client of mine."

"_What_ an excruciating decision that must be." Joey rolled his eyes at his mother's back. "And I _know_ she went out with him _last_ night. Well, whatever. I gotta go to school. Bye."

"Yeah... bye... Beige... mahogany..." His mother murmured in the distance as he jumped out the front door with his school bag.

**OooOOOooO**

"Well, look who finally decided to show up." Tristan grinned at Joey, as he stepped into the classroom. "Morning, sunshine." He was sitting at his desk, as Duke was sitting to the left of him with his feet on Tristan's desk.

"Stop saying that, Tristan." Joey rolled his eyes, as he plopped down - face first, of course - on his desk. "I'm s-o-o-o tired... I just want to go to sleep..."

"Or you just want to go and crawl under your bed because you don't want to admit to yourself the harsh truth that is... _Joey Wheeler does _not_ have a date!_ Everyone gasp!" Duke laughed. "Cheer up, Joey. Once the day's over, you can go back to doing... whatever it is you do."

"Aww, don't be mean, Duke." Tristan smiled, as he turned around to face his blonde friend. "It's not Joey's fault he's too stupid to ask Mai out."

"I did, you idiot." Joey growled.

Duke and Tristan snapped to attention. "You _did_?" They both exclaimed.

"Yeah... yesterday." Joey mumbled.

The other two stood in awaiting silence, until finally Tristan said, "_And_?"

"And?" Joey raised his head. "And what?"

"O-o-o-o-oh..." Duke and Tristan breathed out, leaning back in their chairs.

"Sorry, man." Tristan pat Joey on the head. "That's got to suck."

"So, what happened exactly?" Duke probed, as he propped his feet onto Tristan's desk.

Joey sighed, as he sat up somewhat and rested his head on his elbows. "Well, I came out and asked her, and she said Josh had already asked her. And then we got into a bit of a fight because I used a 'tone' on her, and so she said I could forget about calling her at all and drove away with that idiot, football captain." He shook his head. "I said it once, and I'll say it again - Cupid just wants to take his stupid heart arrows and jam them into my eyes a few times."

Duke shook his head in disapproval. "Joey, you're talking crazy talk again. You've run out of sane things to say again, haven't you?"

Tristan shoved Duke's feet off of his desk. Shooting Duke an angry look as Duke's feet were up in their former position once more, he turned to Joey and said, "You've got to get past this. Every year it's the same thing. 'Oh, I have no date, I have no one to be with on Valentine's day, this day is so stupid, why is it here, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah...' If you had a date, I think you'd love today."

"Yeah, yeah..." Joey rolled his eyes. "You said that yesterday."

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Did I?"

"Yeah, and the stupidity of that comment still stands." Joey replied, plopping his face on his desk. "I didn't have a date yesterday, so we're never going to know if I'll ever like Valentine's Day."

Tristan leaned forward, resting his elbows on Joey's desk as he propped his head up. "For once, I can't agree with you, because I'm finally out of Datelessville."

"Said _that_ yesterday, too..." Joey muttered, though the others carried on as if he had said something else.

"Wow, you've managed to pick up _one_ girl for _one_ night." Joey heard Duke say from his face-down-on-the-desk position. There was a moment's pause, and suddenly Joey heard a few girls giggling in the distance. "You see, if you had _any_ sort of style whatsoever, you'd realise that _that's_ nothing to be proud of. I can have any girl I want in this school, city or anywhere else, whether they have a date or not, so don't start flattering yourself."

"You're just jealous because you lost out on Serenity, dice-boy."

"Why, you-"

"Hey, Tristan, didn't you go out with her _last_ night?" Joey asked, interrupting Duke who he noticed had gone red in the face.

Tristan looked somewhat surprised at that question. "Uh... no. I'm going out with her _tonight_."

"And if _anything_ goes wrong..." Duke growled.

Tristan smirked. "Nothing will go wrong, Duke. I've got a perfect dinner date all set out."

Duke snorted. "At where? McDonald's?"

Tristan pretended not to hear him, as he turned back to Joey. "Don't worry, Joey. I'll take good care of Serenity. I won't let anything happen to her."

"Uh-huh." Joey rolled his eyes. "Sure you won't."

"I just think it really sucks that _you_ don't have a date tonight, Joey." Duke said, then smirked. "But I guess after being dateless for so long, you'd naturally have found a way to cope with it by now."

"What'd I say about telling Serenity about your little 'nose-fishing' incident the other day?" Joey snapped, glaring at him.

Duke blushed, as he quickly said, "But on the other hand, I'd be more than willing to lend you one of my many fangirls to spend tonight with." He shot an angry glance at Tristan, who was shamelessly smiling and enjoying Duke's embarrassment.

"I told you before, I don't _want_ one of your stupid fangirls." Joey griped. "I want _Mai_."

"Hey, everyone!" Yugi's voice called out, interrupting the trio. He sat down in his seat behind Tea, as Tea sat down to the left of Joey, a bag in her hand. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Tristan and Duke replied, cheerily.

Joey looked with confusion at his tri-coloured friend. "Happy Valen... but Valentine's Day was _yesterday_, Yugi."

Duke 'tsk-ed' and shook his head. "Poor guy. He's suffering delusional deja vu from that nasty blow off from Mai."

"Mai blew you off?" Yugi blinked.

Joey furrowed his eyebrows, as he looked hard at Yugi. "Yugi, I already _told_ you. Yesterday, on the phone. Remember? You had to go because Gramps got sick and was puking all over the place? Remember?"

"Uh..." Yugi glanced briefly at the others. "Grandpa... isn't sick... And you didn't call me yesterday. I'm just hearing about the whole Mai thing now."

Joey looked at Yugi in silence and shock. Finally he said, "Oh. Well... wow. Okay."

"See? Delusions." Duke sighed. "Mai must've _really_ let him have it."

"I'm not _deluded_, you moron!" Joey snapped. "Now shut up, or I swear I'm gonna call Serenity!"

"Joey, I know you don't have a date and that always makes you a little grumpy, but don't start taking it out on _Duke_." Tea frowned at him momentarily. Then she reached into her bag. "Here, this'll make you feel better!"

Joey took the card she pulled from her bag with a moment's hesitation. He looked at it. Sure enough, there was the cartoon bee holding the heart-shaped box of chocolates under the words, '_Bee Mine_.' Cute. _Real_ cute.

"You like it?" Tea asked.

"Uh... Tea..." Joey replied, staring hard at the Valentine's Day card in his hand. "You... gave this to me already."

"Huh?"

"Yesterday." Joey explained. "Remember? You got mad at me because I said thanks all sarcastic for giving me a ten cent card for all the stupid people who can't get a real date so they have to have their friends give them crummy pieces of paper for moral support. Remember?"

Tea stared angrily at him. "No," she replied haughtily, "And if you didn't like, you didn't have to be so rude - or start making up stupid stories. Just give it back!" And with that, she snatched the card back from Joey and stomped off into a corner of the classroom to talk with the same group of girls as she did yesterday.

"Nice." Tristan grinned.

"Okay, that's _totally_ what she did yesterday!" Joey insisted. "See? She's mad at me!"

"No, you _think_?" Duke rolled his eyes.

"No, guys! Listen!" Joey whimpered slightly. "That's what happened yesterday! A lot of things you guys were saying this morning were the _exact_ same things you were saying _yesterday_. Something really weird is going on here..."

"Right." Duke rolled his eyes. "Well, I'd love to stay, but I have to make some girls swoon before Mrs. Takria gets in." Then he got up from his seat, Joey gawking at his receding form.

"You _see_?" Joey cried out, pointing at Duke from across the room. He looked somewhat frantically at Tristan and Yugi. "That's _exactly_ what he said yesterday! _Exactly_!"

"Joey... man..." Tristan looked at him with some wariness. "You've _really_ got to calm down."

"But I _know_ that's what he said yesterday! And the toaster already blew up, and Tea already got mad at me, and you already took Serenity out..." Joey trailed off and sighed.

Yugi and Tristan exchanged worried glances. "Are you alright, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Ohh..." Joey moaned, plopping his face down onto the desk. "I don't know, Yugi... I really don't know... Something's wrong with today... No one seems to notice it but me. Maybe... maybe there's something wrong with _me_..."

"So you finally admit your inferiority." Kaiba's cool and collected voice sounded. "Well, it took you long enough."

"And he said that _exact_... well, _almost_ exact same thing yesterday too." Joey sighed as Kaiba walked past. He sat up and looked hard at his friends. "Bet you that I can get him to say, 'That's a typical response from someone with an intellect like yours.' Will you believe me then that something's up?"

Yugi shook his head with disbelief. "Alright, Joey."

"I might not believe that something's up with today that we're not seeing, Joey," Tristan said, "But if he does say that, either you've got freaky powers or you've banded together to plot against us or something." He thought for a moment. "Given the options, I think the most likely choice would be that you've got freaky powers. _If_ he says it, anyway."

Joey nodded, and took a breath. Turning around, he called out, "Hey, Kaiba?"

The CEO looked up, an expression of boredom and bitter resentment written over his face. "What, dog?"

Biting down a couple of obscenities, Joey continued, "You know what you said about me when you were waking past?"

Kaiba smirked. "Of course. My attention span and memory far exceed yours."

"Yeah, well," Joey said, "Shut up."

Kaiba blinked for a moment.

'_He's gonna say it. That'll be total proof._' Joey thought to himself, as Yugi and Tristan listened intently. But things lately had a way of going the exact opposite of how Joey planned. In this case, it held up once more.

Kaiba burst out laughing.

**OooOOOooO**

**OOOOO**

**OOOOO **

(1) - I don't like his dad or the character that his father portrays/symbolises. Yes, I think Joey would have had a crap father, so he's always living with his mom in my stories. His mom and Serenity. Yay... Serenity... I don't like her either. Bloody... _mini-Tea_ or something...

(2) - YES!

(3) - I had to add it somewhere. Ehehehe... blurb...

(4) - That's an amazing song, I know most of it. Yes... but not the name. Let me know what the name of the song is, someone! I have to download it!

**D/N:** Yes, well... another chapter done. I've been doing a sort of off and on thing with the next chapter of Of Dogs and Men, so... quite. It'll be up soon. Really soon. I _promise_. ... Eheheh... blurb...


	3. Clearly Not an Exact Repeat

**Now, What's Wrong With This Picture?**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I never did own Yu-Gi-Oh. I am not making any profit off of this story, therefore you cannot sue me. And if you do… well, I guess I'll just see you in court then.

**D/N:** Hmm… yes, I did take a while to update, didn't I? Well, that's only because my brother had to reformat my computer, and then the internet pretty much self-destructed. But I'm back, baby! And better than ever! Oh yeah! So, just read on and enjoy! Remember, if you guys have any questions, like, say… you have no idea what's going on, feel free to ask me to clarify or something in a review.

**And The People Talk:**

**Precious Tears:** :( I know. I shouldn't be tormenting Joey like this. But… I just want to for some reason :D

**Cheesebot:** :O How come?

**Beast Wars:** :D Thanks! Here's your update!

**BoxerBitch:** You and your boyfriend broke up? Sorry about that, but it was probably because he smelled like cheese or something. Ah, well. Boys take up too much time nowadays, anyway. And you can't steal Joey's boxers! I've taken them all and left none for you! BWUAHHAHAHAHAHAH! … And none for him either, as a result. So I'll buy him some more. … AND THEN STEAL THEM TOO! Let me know about the thing your friend said about Kaiba, and I'm sorry it's a bit confusing right now, but you might get the hang of it later. :D

**Lady-Azura:** Glad you like it so far, and I hope you like this one, too!

**Sakurelle:** :P I actually made myself laugh once or twice. And I'm glad you found it so funny. I hope it's because you understood what was going on so far. Enjoy the chappie!

**Pairings:** Joey/Mai, whoever else I think of in the sidelines.

**P.O.V:** Third Person

**Summary:** It's Valentine's Day, and Joey's got his eyes set on Mai. Unfortunately, she's completely out of his league, and Joey will never be able to convince that diva prom queen to consent to a last minute date. Besides, she's probably already got twenty other guys lined up. But Joey doesn't quit easily, and although he's only got one day, he's stuck trying over and over. And until he can figure out a way to get out of this strange time loop, he'll be trying till the end of eternity.

**Legend:**

**OooOOOooO **- section break/new scene

_- - - -_ - The next/same day, depending on your P.O.V

_blah de blah be blah_ - thinking/responses over the phone/radio, use your thinker to tell them apart

**OooOOOooO**

"_Shut up_?" Kaiba gasped out, laughing loudly and calling the attention of the entire class to him. "That's _all_ you can come up with? God, Wheeler! In the years I have known you, I have always realised that you were an imbecile with a very limited grasp of any language. But even for you, that has set a new level of idiocy! Congratulations, Wheeler. You have just proved to this entire school that you _are_, in fact, the most pathetic excuse for a person here. At least try and make your comebacks a full sentence. But that might be asking too much."

Joey heard the soft laughter around him, as he blinked at Kaiba. Finally, he turned around, facing Yugi and Tristan once more.

"Ouch." Tristan shook his head. "That must've really _hurt_."

"You see? _This_ is why I keep trying to tell you to just ignore him!" Yugi said. "This wouldn't have happened if you just ignored him!"

"I don't get it…" Joey mumbled to himself. "He said it _yesterday_. I said exactly what I said before. What happened?"

"Joey, really, you gotta lay off of the whole 'the day repeated itself' thing." Tristan told him. "Or else you're going to keep getting burned like that for the rest of your life."

"That," Duke said, as he made his way over from the crowd of girls formerly surrounding him, "Or you'll get locked up in an asylum. You alright, Joey? You want me to beat him up for you?"

"No." Joey grumped. "Where's Mai? She didn't see that, did she?"

Yugi looked around the class. "No, she's not here yet."

"Yeah, but you can be sure her friends are going to tell her." Tristan informed him. "You thought she burned you yesterday? It's going to be even worse when she finds out your butt got mega-whooped by that prick."

"And of course, _Kaiba's_ never going to let you live this down." Duke said. "At least, not for a while. You've got some serious problems to fix, Joey."

"Don't I know it…" Joey sighed, looking at the door just as it opened. "Alright guys, she's here. Tristan, go ask her if she's got a date or something for today yet."

"What?" Tristan blinked. "Why?"

"Because I said so!" Joey snapped. "Now do it!"

"You really think she doesn't have a date yet?" Duke asked, raising an eyebrow. "While I can guarantee you that it's technically not official, and that if you ask her right now she's going to say she doesn't have anything planned, might I remind you that she's going with Josh? Like she did last year and the year before that? Face it, Joey. You're spending another V-Day dateless and Mai-less."

"Tristan, _go!_" Joey urged, giving his friend a little push towards the young woman across the room.

"Yeah, yeah." Tristan grunted, getting up reluctantly. "You know, Duke was sitting _right_ there."

As he went out of earshot, Joey hurriedly whispered to Duke and Yugi, "Okay, here's another thing of proof. Tristan's gonna wind up walking around in circles around Mai and her friends, okay? Then he's gonna come back and say that _she_ said that if I wanted to know so much, that _I_ should ask her myself. Just watch."

So the trio sat and stared like blank-faced monkeys at Tristan who had begun to talk to her.

"You know," Duke said, still looking at them, "She's gonna think we're freaks for staring at her like this."

"Yup." Yugi agreed.

"Just shut up and watch." Joey snapped. As they sat stock-still, Mai eventually turned to look at them. She laughed seemingly nervously, as she waved slightly. Joey then took this opportunity to slide under his desk, suddenly realising the significance behind Duke's words. He did _not_ need to look like a freak in front of Mai - day repeating, or no day repeating. Major trashing by Kaiba or no major trashing by Kaiba.

"Smooth." Duke nodded. He waved at Mai. "At least now she knows you're _spineless_."

"Yeah. You shouldn't have much trouble getting a date with her now." Yugi added.

"Shut up, and just watch Tristan! He's going to start walking around them in circles soon!" Joey said from under his desk, irritated that he had chickened out. Hiding under his desk was a _much_ better idea than sitting in his chair and looking away.

"I'm watching, I'm watching..." Duke replied. He looked under the desk at Joey. "Hey, is he supposed to start walking around them before or after he comes back?"

"What are you talking about?" Joey asked, getting out from under his desk enough to rest a shoulder on his chair. "He'll just start... walking... Tristan, did you walk around Mai and her friends before you got here?"

Tristan, who had just returned, blinked in surprise. "Walk around them? Why? What for?"

"I told you guys - The depression of Mai rejecting him has gone to his head." Duke said. "It's okay, Joey. It happens to everyone. I remember this really hot chick I liked saying 'no' to _me_ when I first asked her out."

"Really?" Joey raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no. I mean, come on!" Duke grinned, flashing his 'pearly whites.' "Who can resist _my_ charm?"

"Yeah, you're not helping." Joey growled, as he turned his attention to Tristan. "Well? What'd she say?"

"She said she wanted to know if you hurt yourself or something." Tristan briefed. "And I asked her if she was too mad with you to go out with you tonight-_"_

"_What?_" Joey cried. "What'd you ask her that for?"

Tristan shrugged. "I just did. But whatever. I asked her if she was mad at you, and she asked me why she _would_ be. So I reminded her of the fight you guys had yesterday, and it turns out that _you_ never asked her in the first place."

"Of _course_ I asked her. But I asked her _yesterday_. And technically, yesterday is... well... today! Because the day repeated itself!" Joey tried to explain. "See, I asked her after school yesterday, and _that's_ when we got into the fight. So, _technically_ I haven't asked her yet. But I did. It just never happened because the day repeated itself."

"It sounds like _your_ repeating yourself." Duke rolled his eyes. "And you keep repeating this lame story about how the _day_ repeated itself. Joey, man, drop it. It was funny at first, but now it's getting tiresome."

"Yeah, Joey." Yugi slowly nodded. "Maybe you just had a... really vivid dream. So it's _like_ the day repeated."

"A premonition." Tristan said.

Joey growled, finally getting off the floor and smacking his face on his desk yet again. "I didn't dream it. It happened. And..." He thought for a moment. "I can prove it."

"Here we go again..." Tristan sighed, sitting in his chair.

"I hope it has nothing to do with Kaiba this time." Duke yawned, stretching his arms. "I mean, once is bad enough, but to do it twice is just kind of confirming the stupidity he's always talking about."

"No, no, no!" Joey shook his head. "Listen! Mrs. Takria is planning on asking us riddles today. She'll give us each a question to answer in 15 seconds. My question's answer is gonna be 'c'. Okay? Will you believe me then?"

"I'll believe it when I see it." Tristan replied, sitting in his desk.

A few seconds later, and the bell rung. Mrs. Takria entered, as a maddening dash was created in everyone's scurry to get to their seats. "Good morning, everyone!" She called out, merrily. "Today we'll be learning about the wonderful world of logic and puzzles! In other words, I'm going to give you each a riddle, and you're going to have to solve it in 15 seconds. Understood?"

Tristan, Duke, and Yugi looked at Joey with wide eyes, as he shot them all an immature look of, 'I told you so, you idiots!'

"Good. I'll go around the class, starting with Janet..." Mrs. Takria said, for the second time.

Joey began to tune her out once more. He already knew the answer, so why bother paying attention to that old, windbag? Besides, he had to figure out what was going on.

First thing first - what happened yesterday that he didn't want to happen again? Well, there was a pop quiz near the end of the day, so he could probably study during lunch. He didn't have a clue what any of the answers were last time, so he wasn't going to be left unprepared today. He missed his chance to ask Mai out before because he had waited to long, and if he had just asked her in the morning, he could've been dating her at night. So then, right after class, he'd ask her out and ride off into the distance with the woman of his dreams...

Bonus, too. Since the day repeated itself, she wasn't mad at him. She'd finally be able to say 'yes.' Now, really, the question was where to take her? Most places wouldn't be able to give him a reservation if he called three minutes beforehand. That was bound to cause some difficulties. Plus, it's not like he was oozing money. He was on a limited budget, and he really didn't want to say, "Gorge, sweetie! Oh, wait, spit it back up. I can't pay for it all." He supposed ordering _for_ her was a possibility... but then again, an independent chick like Mai wouldn't appreciate that at all. Not unless, of course, he took her to some kind of... _French_ restaurant where the menu was French and everyone spoke French and he _ordered_ in French. That would earn some brownie points. Probably. But there was just one little problem with that scheme...

He'd have to learn to _speak _French.

No biggie... He knew some words, right? Boon-jur... Mercy... Sal-up... Oh Rev-auir... Or something along those lines anyway.

"Mr. Wheeler, are you going to answer the riddle or am I going to have to repeat it for the _third_ time while you continue to gawk at Miss. Valentine?" Mrs. Takria's voice cut in.

"Not again..." Joey muttered to himself. The class burst out laughing, and he really didn't want to look at Mai. "I actually wasn't 'gawking' at her. I was day-dreaming, and she just happened to be in the way of my eyeballs."

"Mr. Wheeler, are you trying to be funny?" Mrs. Takria snapped.

"No, sir."

"_Excuse_ me?"

"Ma'am."

"Mr. Wheeler, I suggest you go to the principal's office now and get off with a light punishment instead of saying something to make it worse." Mrs. Takria said, gesturing towards the door. "You have a reputation for doing that."

Joey's eyes widened slightly. "Go to the office? For what? I didn't do anything!"

"Disrespect counts, Mr. Wheeler." Mrs. Takria began tapping her foot. "And now you're getting into defiance. What else are you going to get yourself into?"

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tristan, Duke and a part of Yugi, all with expressions that were silently willing him to keep his mouth shut and leave without a fuss. He never _did_ do anything people told him too...

"I didn't do anything wrong." Joey stubbornly replied.

Mrs. Takria's eyes narrowed in anger, as she said in a low voice, "Joseph Wheeler, this is your final chance to go to the office before I give you a week's detention for disrespect and defiance of authority."

Joey glared at her, as he finally realised there wasn't much us he could do at the moment. Getting up angrily, he walked past her and muttered under his breath, "I'll give you defiance, you shrivelled up, old hag."

... Actually, his words were _far_ worse than those, but due to the current rating I must refraining from typing them. The reaction, however...

"_WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!_"

**OooOOOooO**

"Detention for a _month_, Yugi. Plus a suspension." Joey growled, lying on his bed. "I just got back about ten minutes ago. _And_, because of that, I missed my chance with Mai! _Again!_"

"_Joey, you brought it on yourself. You should know by now how sharp her hearing is._" Yugi replied on the phone. "_What did your mom say?_"

"Not back yet." Joey sighed. "And Serenity left right after school to go out with Tristan, but I'm pretty sure he'll tell her all about it."

"_Well... Then... I guess that's that._" Yugi said. "_But what about this whole 'the day repeated itself' thing? Do you think it'll happen again?_"

"I... don't know." Joey told him, after a moment's pause. "... I don't. Maybe. Or maybe it was just some kind of... weird... freaky... law of physics defying... fluke. That's the best I can come up with right now."

"_I hope so. Yami said this was pretty serious. He never heard of anyone in the same situation like this, but he thinks that if you have the day repeat enough... You might snap._" Yugi paused for a moment, and slowly added, "_... Or worse._"

Joey was quiet for a few minutes, thinking to himself. "Yeah... But I think it was a one-time thing."

"_Alright, if you say - Oh, great!_" Yugi suddenly said, with a frustrated tone.

"What? What happened?" Joey asked, sitting up.

"_It's grandpa... He just threw up all over the stairs... I have to go, Joey._" Yugi sighed. "_But let me know what's happened tomorrow._"

"Uh... Sure." Joey said. "Oh, and Yugi?"

"_Yes?_"

"I was right! Gramps _did_ get sick after all!"

"... _Joey, you're sounding a bit too happy about that._"

"I didn't mean it like _that_." Joey rolled his eyes. "Alright, whatever. I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?"

"_Yup. Bye!_" And with a click, Yugi was gone, leaving Joey alone to his thoughts.

Joey stared up at his ceiling for a few minutes, before getting changed and crawling into bed. It's not like there was anything else to do, and he was dying to get the day over and done with.

**OooOOOooO**

"Come on, Cue," A small, winged cherub said. "Don't you think he's freaked out enough?"

"Yes. But he still hasn't accomplished his task." Was the reply. "Besides, once more won't hurt."

_- - - - -_

**OooOOOooO **

**OOOOO **

**OOOOO**

**D/N:** Wow... how long did _that_ take? Ehehehe... sorry. But here's the chapter, and I hope you enjoyed. The next one will be out... shortly. Right now, I'm gotta finish that O.D.a.M chapter! GAH! Damn you, writer's block!


	4. An Interesting Loophole

**Third Time's the Charm... Right?**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO. Now excuse me as I run off and cry...

**D/N:** Yes, I have return-ed! Aren't I special? Of course I am. Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post! If you're an Of Dogs and Men reader, you should be used to it by now. If not, then... well, you will be. Anyway, this is the third day Joey's going to repeat the day:D And don't you worry, kiddies! The fun's just about to begin.

**Reviews Make me Smile! Unless They're Flames... But I Don't Have One Yet, So I'm Good:**

**Lady-Azura:** :D I'm just glad you don't think it sucks! Hope ya keep reading!

**Eva-AngelElricY:** :O Don't die on me! I'm sorry I took so long to update, I'm completely notorious for that! Yeah, Cupid's a jerk ain't he:P Don't worry, I'll take good care of Joey. :D

**Appels and oranjes:** Thanks! I'm glad you like it so far.

**Sakurelle:** :D Hope I didn't take _too_ long to update for you.

**Inuyasha-luvr-4evr:** :D I'm happy you like what I'm writing! Keep reading!

**OooOOOooO**

(I've really gotta start using the chapter break line feature thingie soon...)

Joey cracked his eyes open to the familiar beeping of his alarm clock, listening to the even more familiar song that followed suit.

"_... And tell you time and time again... how much I care..._"

Was it possible that it was the next day and that the radio people just ran out of songs to play at this time so they just whipped out the same song from yesterday?

"_... Sometimes I feel my heart will... overflow..._"

Probably not. But it was a much more hopeful thought than the alternative. After reliving a far more embarrassing day yesterday - or last today or whatever - the thought of going back made him dread the possibility of screwing up the day even further. Then again... it wasn't like anyone was going to remember what happened yesterday.

"_... Are you somewhere feeling lonely... or is someone loving you?_"

"How many days will it take for me to lose it and fling a rock at my clock?" He murmured, reluctantly stretching and swinging his legs over the side of his bed. "Not _too_ much longer, that's for damn sure."

"_...start by saying... I love you..._"

"Whatever, man." Joey grumbled, clearly not in the perkiest of moods as he pounded roughly on his alarm.

Ten minutes later left Joey to trudge down the stairs in a half-hazard fashion to breakfast. There he found his sister eating breakfast and his mother in front of the stove. He sat down at the table next to his sister, too miserable at the fact that the infamous, sparking toaster was back on the counter to pay attention to her chipper 'hello.'

"Tired, Joey?" She asked again, patting his head moments after he let it flop onto the table. "You can sleep when you get back."

"I'll be back here tomorrow, won't I?" Joey said to no one in particular.

"Well, of course you will." Serenity replied. "You _live_ here."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Oh, darn. I'm out of eggs." Diane sighed. "Joey, you wouldn't mind having just bacon today, would you?"

"I'm not sick of it yet, so sure." Joey said, refusing to move from his now quite comfortable table spot.

"Are you staying home today, mom?" Serenity asked, finishing her food.

"Yeah." Diane said, dropping some more raw meat into the frying pan to let it sizzle its way to a second death. "That jerk Michael decided to unload a heap of work onto me. I'm staying home to finish it."

"Can I stay home too?" Joey said, sitting up in the most dramatic fashion. "School sucks."

"Too bad." Diane pushed a plate of bacon in front of him. "Here's your bacon."

Joey brought a piece to his mouth, only now noticing that she had burned it to a crisp. "All the appliances in this house suck."

"No, they don't." Diane rolled her eyes. "What makes you think that?"

"Well," He said, swallowing the charcoal, and eyeing the now sparking toaster, "For one thing, the toaster's on fire."

Diane looked at the toaster, seeing it covered in flames. Yelping, she grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed it all over the toaster. After the crisis was adverted, she shook her head. "Well... that was-"

"A fine example of the suckage of appliances in this house." Joey muttered, pushing the bacon away. "I think I'll just get something from school."

"What's wrong, Joey?" Serenity frowned. "You seem really grumpy this morning."

"I think it's because he doesn't have a date tonight." Diane grinned. "It's alright, Joey. You can stay here with me tonight. We'll play Boggle."

"Whoopee..." Joey replied, with a recording-breaking amount of fake enthusiasm.

Serenity chuckled. "Speaking of dates, I'm going to be late coming home tonight."

"Yeah, Tristan's picking you up at six, right?" Joey said.

Giving him a strange look, she said, "... Yes... But I didn't tell you that. How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess." Joey replied. "Let me know what happens with Garbage Man. I still haven't heard the story about him."

"'Garbage Man'?" Serenity echoed. "Who's 'Garbage Man'?"

"Exactly." Joey said, getting up from the table. "Well, I may as well go face the trauma-inducing school of Hell. Hey, look at that... I used 'inducing' right."

"Joey, are you feeling alright?" Diane questioned, looking at him carefully. "You seem sort of... frustrated..."

"Oh, it's nothing a few more repetitions can't handle." Joey muttered. "Anyway, I'm off. Have fun on your date, Serenity." And with that, he left the kitchen, leaving Diane and Serenity blinking in confusion.

**OooOOOooO**

"Well, look who finally decided to show up. Morning sunshine."

"Stuff it, Taylor." Joey grunted, walking between Tristan and Duke's desk and pushing Duke's feet off roughly.

"Hey- Watch it!" Duke snapped, straightening up in his chair. "_Someone's_ obviously dateless."

Joey sighed, plopping into his seat and for once without having his head planted onto the wooden surface. "Guys, normally I'd be freaking out right about now trying to figure out how to get a date at the last minute, but I've got a bigger problem."

"What?" Tristan asked. "Everyone found out about your bathroom incident?"

"Bathroom incident?" Duke said, his eyes gleaming with interest. "What's this I hear?"

"Hey! Focus guys!" Joey told them, snapping his fingers in the air for further emphasis. "I'm really in trouble here."

The two dark-haired teens exchanged glances with each other, before finally paying attention to what Joey had to say.

Taking a deep breath, Joey stated, "I'm reliving the same day over and over."

There was a few moments pause after this where Duke and Tristan just continued to look at him with indifferent expressions, before Duke finally said, "What do you mean?"

Joey rolled his eyes. "I mean this is the _third_ Valentine's day I've lived through this year. Yesterday was the first time I relieved it, and the day before was the actual day."

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "So... what? You're trapped in Valentine's Day or something?"

"_Exactly_." Joey finished, with a nod.

"Joey, you're talking crazy talk again." Duke said. "You've run out-"

"-Of sane things to say again, haven't you?" Joey finished for him. "See? I knew you were going to say that! You always say that!"

The two boys looked at him with incredulous faces, leaning forward in genuine concern.

"Joey... Are you actually repeating the day?" Tristan asked in a low voice.

"_Yes_!"

"So..." Duke said slowly, thinking all the while. "This is your _third_ time."

"Yes, yes!" Joey nodded furiously. "Each time is a little different, and I think it's because I act a little different each day. Like, yesterday... or... uh... last today... or something, I got insulted by Kaiba, right? Well, three seconds after I tell him to shut up, the first time he says something like, 'Yeah, that's the best you can do,' or whatever, but the _second_ time, he laughs right in my face! And I'm pretty sure that's because I took too long to say it or something."

Tristan shook his head in disbelief. "This is creepy. I mean, we should be sort of used to this stuff happening, right? What with Yugi and Yami and all the stuff we go through with them. But... I don't know. It's kind of hard to believe you, Joey."

"You don't believe me?" Joey asked.

"No, we believe you." Duke hastily added. "You're our friend, and we'll always believe you. It's just... well, with Yugi there was proof. This time... Who knows? Maybe the stuff we went through before just... kind of... made you crack a little."

Joey's eyes widened. "You think I'm _crazy_ now?"

"You seem to believe it completely." Duke shrugged. "And we don't have any proof. So... Maybe the stress is just getting to you. Or you're trying to get attention away from the fact that you don't have a date."

Many various replies to this bubbled up into Joey's head, but he finally settled on, "Didn't you just say less than five _seconds_ ago that you believed me?"

Duke paused for a moment. "I _do_ believe you. I believe that _you_ believe it."

Joey growled low in his throat, before jumping up out of his seat. "You know what? Thanks for nothing, you jerks! I came here asking for help, and what do you do? You start calling me crazy!" he shouted at them.

Tristan looked around the classroom, as everyone started staring at the three. "Uh... Joey, just calm down and-"

"_No!_" Joey snapped. "Don't tell _me_ to calm down! I'm in trouble here, and all you guys can do is think I'm nuts! Well, ain't I the lucky one for having friends as _trusting_ and _helpful_ as you two! I'm out of here, you losers!" And with that, he stomped his way through the path cleared for him as the students of the classroom practically jumped out of his way. '_So, that's how Kaiba feels, huh? Cool. I could get used to people fearing me._'

"Joey - Wait!"

"Come back!"

Ignoring the calls of his 'friends,' he marched down the halls, turning a deaf ear to all the teachers telling him to return to his class, and even to Tea and Yugi who tried to speak to him as he walked by. Normally he'd have been crushed by the heartbroken look Yugi gave him at ignoring him, but right now he was simply in no mood to care.

He had to go somewhere and figure this whole thing out.

**OooOOOooO**

"I dunno, Cha-a-a-rlie..." Joey slurred, "Mebbe I _am_ goin' nutso on everyone..."

"Well, Joey," the bartender replied, eyeing the youth that wobbled precariously on the stool before him and had done so all day, "I can't say I blame ya. After all you claim to have gone through, I'd be repeating the day too, eventually. I mean, ancient spirits and monsters and lost souls?" The curly-haired man whistled. "I'm surprised you're not in a nuthouse right now."

Joey sniffed loudly. "Whattam I gonna do, Ch-a-a-a-rlie?" Joey said, waving the half-empty bottle around. "Everyone's against me now... You're my only friend..."

"Just so long as you keep drinking, kid. You're gonna have one hell of a bill." Charlie replied. He wasn't concerned with any stupid, age-limit, which was why Joey sat before him, drunk as ever. Cash was cash, no matter who he got it from. Besides, this kid was entertaining. "So, when are you going to start living it up?"

Joey looked at him, confusion written in his glassy eyes. "Live what up?"

Charlie grinned. "Well, it seems to me like you got yourself into a mighty fine situation there, Joey. Sure, you'll probably snap even further at having the day repeat itself, but the way I see it, you can do anything right now."

Joey hiccuped loudly, a sign that the man should continue.

"I mean, look at yourself, kid," Charlie went on, waving a rag at the blonde before returning it to dry more mugs. "You're stone drunk. Any other person would wake up the next morning and _die_ from the hang-over, but _you_... _You_ won't get a hang-over."

"Why not?" Joey asked, in a slightly more sober voice. Charlie's words were appealing to him in a way that forced him to pay attention. He stopped wobbling to pay closer attention.

"Think about it." Charlie told him. "If the day starts again, then you technically haven't _had_ anything to drink, have you? You could go grab a gun and go on a massive killing spree and everyone would be alive again tomorrow! You could rob every bank in town and be in jail for a single night where others would spend _years_ rotting! You can do everything you ever wanted now."

Joey nodded with understanding, slamming the bottle onto the bar with such force that it nearly cracked. "You're right, Charlie!" He exclaimed. "What am I complaining for? I can get away with anything now!"

"You got it."

"You've been a great help!" Joey said, getting up and walking away with only a slight tilt, bottle in tow.

"Hey!" Charlie called out. "Aren't you going to pay?"

"Why bother? It's not like I'm going to be here tomorrow." Joey said.

"Sonuva..." Charlie growled, bursting out of the bar to try and catch him, but it was too late. Joey had already melted into the crowd.

**OooOOOooO**

Joey managed to stumble his way home, but not before passing by an auto-dealer shop. Pausing to look, he eyed a fancy sportscar sitting proudly on a stand.

"Hello... What've we here?" he mumbled, pressing his face onto the glass. Looking carefully, he spotted keys sitting on the dashboard where some bumbling, careless, idiot of an employee had left them. "That's not smart. Someone could end up stealing that car..."

Walking to the front door, he tugged at the handles, only to find them sealed shut. "Whado they lock the doors for? Don't they wanna have people come in and check out the merkandiss... er... merk-an-dice... uh... stuff?" Shaking his head, he stepped back. "No, no, this won't do." And with that, he hurled the beer bottle still in his hand through the glass door.

There was a loud crash, followed by the twinkling of glass falling to the ground, before the alarm went off. Joey hiccuped again. "Well... I guess I have a couple of minutes before the cops come." He shrugged, pushing down the rest of the glass and stepping in.

He walked up to the car in mild fascination, and stepped up onto the platform. A stunning, red car with blue stripes - all his for the taking. Grabbing the handle, he was pleased to find the door unlocked. Taking it as an obvious invitation to get in, Joey soon found himself sitting at the wheel, pushing the keys into the ignition.

"Hope this thing has gas..." Joey murmured, starting up the car. A low rumbling responded, as Joey grinned. "Oh, yeah! This thing is _so_ cool!" With those words, he drove off of the platform, crashing through the glass wall and recklessly onto the street with a wild screech of the tires.

It wasn't long before Joey found himself falling asleep in a jail cell.

**OooOOOooO**

"Cue, you can't just let him run rampant like that!" A cherub cried. "He's going to hurt someone!"

"No, he won't." Was the cool response. "Everything he does will be gone the next day. Besides, I figure he's going to be doing this for a while. Might as well keep him entertained so he doesn't go _completely_ nuts and scare her off, eh?"

The cherub sighed. "If you say so... But I don't like this. He's going to wake up one morning and think it's the same day and do something stupid-"

"Hey, hey! Relax! That's not going to happen! There's only one way he can get out of this little loop, and once he finds it - and he _will_ find it, believe me - he'll know for sure that it's the next day. _Trust_ me. In fact, I think this is for the best. So he gets a hang this thing."

_- - - - - - - - - _

"_... Hello... I've just got to let you know..._"

Joey had been a wake for a few moments, listening to the song in disbelief. Sure, he had been super drunk, but he remembered the events like it was yesterday. Which in fact, it had been. Sort of. Last yesterday. Er... today. Whatever. The point was, he had just found the little loophole that had opened a whole new door of possibilities.

"_... Cause I haven't got a clue... But let me start by saying... I love you..._"

"This... is... _awesome!_"

**OooOOOooO**

**OOOOO**

**OOOOO**

**D/N:** :D And now the games truly begin! Joey's gonna find himself in a whole new set of adventures now. Review!


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